Friday, January 29, 2021

Member Samantha Helmstetter in Romeo and Juliet Jan. 31 at 7:30pm with Theatre5TheatreCompany

https://www.instagram.com/tier5theatrecompany/ 

https://www.facebook.com/tier5theatrecompany

https://www.facebook.com/tier5theatrecompany/photos/453854445994878

Theatre5TheatreCompany Youtube

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Thursday, January 28, 2021

Member Sam Shurtleff in festival-screened series DYED IN THE WOOL

 "Dyed in the Wool" is a five part comedy web series that Cold Gin Productions Bill Sorice wrote, directed, produced & played a lead role. Executive Produced by Ricardo Cordero. In March '20 they started their film festival run and since have picked up 7 Awards, 5 Nominations and 15 Official Selections!

Follow its progress on:

Instagram

Facebook

IMDB

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Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Meeting

Proof

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For Review: AEMI First 100 Days Relief and Recovery Priorities letter to Capitol Hill

 Hi everyone, 


With the new Congress expected to take quick action on another COVID-19 bill, we believe it is prudent to send a letter to Hill offices that reiterates both our relief and recovery priorities. 

Please see the attached draft of the letter for your review. Aside from a new introduction, the letter's content remains substantively unchanged from our December 2020 recovery letter and our "Policy Agenda for Reopening America's Arts, Entertainment, and Media Industries" document with three exceptions: 1. We removed asks already won in the December omnibus/COVID-19 relief bill or, with the case of the OSHA ETS, already acted on by the Biden administration, 2. We adjusted dates for extensions of the pandemic UI programs to the end of 2021, and 3. As requested by multiple unions, we added an ask for the federal government to provide a nonrefundable tax credit for businesses to cover the costs of COVID-19 workplace safety compliance, including expenses for sanitation, personal protective equipment (“PPE”), and testing.

Because the AEMI unions previously approved these priorities, we will use an opt-out review process. Let us know by COB Thursday, Jan. 28th if your union objects to this letter. Otherwise, we will presume that folks are okay with this letter going to the Hill by next Monday.  

As always, please directly email me with any questions. 

Best,
Michael


Michael Wasser
Assistant to the President/Legislative Director
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO

Text pasted here:

A picture containing clock Description automatically generatedJanuary XX, 2021

 

COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Priorities for Creative Professionals

 

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate creative professionals. Economic relief aimed at supporting creative professionals during the pandemic is urgently needed. The economic devastation goes beyond creative professionals’ wages, affecting their health insurance and retirement security due to the near total work stoppage. In normal times, these everyday individuals help power a sector that generates more than four percent of the country’s GDP and employs more than four million people. However, to date, this sector has lost an estimated $14.1 billion in economic activity due to COVID-19,[1] and losses are expected to continue as many theaters, soundstages, and performance venues remain dark well into 2021. 

 

Economic relief will also be needed so that employment in this vital sector can return to pre-pandemic levels when it is safe to go back to work. Helping get creative professionals back to work safely will help the economy as a whole recover faster, as their industries’ audiences spend an estimated $31.47 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission on lodging, restaurants, clothing, transportation, and other goods and services.[2]  

 

Relief

Extend and expand COVID-19 economic support programs

 

·                                      Extend Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency          Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation through December 31, 2021.

·                       Extend the Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s paid leave provisions through December 31, 2021 and expand its coverage to professionals working for companies with 500 or more employees.

Preserve access to affordable, quality healthcare 

·                             Subsidize 100 percent of a person’s COBRA costs for one year.

·                             Extend COBRA eligibility to 36 months.

·                             Provide economic support for multiemployer health plans that are waiving cost-sharing or keeping ineligible members on their plans for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Protect the pension funds of creative professionals

 

  • Allow multiemployer pension plans to: 
    • Freeze zone status for at least one year, based on provisions similar to the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008.
    • Smooth investment and contribution base unit (“CBU”) losses in the funding standard account, and investment losses in the development of the actuarial value of assets, following provisions similar to the Pension Relief Act of 2010.
  • Institute a special partition program at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to deal with critically endangered multiemployer plans without increasing burdens on healthy pension plans.
  • Shore up the PBGC through government funding, rather than by depriving healthy plans of funds needed to cover plan obligations.

Protect the collection and dissemination of news and information

  • Expand Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) access already provided for print, radio, and television news organizations to digital-native news organizations to keep news professionals on the job at a time when news is essential.


Provide fair access to government economic support for all nonprofits

  • Extend PPP access to 501(c)5 organizations in line with local chambers of commerce, trade associations, and other 501(c)6 organizations’ existing PPP access.

 

Ensure tax fairness for middle-class creative professionals

  • Allow middle-class creative professionals to deduct necessary business expenses by including the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act of 2019, bipartisan legislation that would update the Qualified Performing Artist tax deduction.

 

Sector Recovery

 

General

 

·      Establish a federal insurance program for pandemic-related losses to encourage the resumption of productions and performances that will put creative professionals back to work.

o   A federal insurance program has been available previously, and is needed for the sector to resume hiring creative professionals to work productions and performances. Knowing that potential pandemic-related losses are insured will motivate banks and other private lenders to invest in productions and performances that may need to shut down if a cast member tests positive. 

·      Create a nonrefundable tax credit for businesses to cover the costs of COVID-19 workplace safety compliance, including expenses for sanitation, personal protective equipment (“PPE”), and testing.

 

Live Theater and Performances 

 

·       Appropriate $9 billion dollars for the National Endowment for the Arts to help jump start productions and put people back to work across the nonprofit arts sector.

o   Dedicate 75 percent of the $9 billion for the NEA to expand grant capacity to ensure arts organizations can continue operations, keep arts professionals employed, and immediately resume productions when it is safe to do so.

o   Authorize the NEA to distribute the remaining money to temporary programs that put arts professionals to work on projects that can lift the spirits of Americans as the country emerges from the pandemic. Such projects could include: 

§  “Reopening America” performing arts tours that bring music, theater, dance, opera, and variety performances to big cities and small towns across the country at minimal cost to Americans, particularly areas that do not often see touring performances.

§  Increased USO performances for the military and their families at military bases here in the United States and abroad.

§  Free matinee performances of nearby musical, theatrical, dance, opera, and variety productions for K-12 school children and the residents of retirement homes and assisted-living centers who were particularly isolated during the pandemic. 

·       Encourage employers to put creative professionals back to work quickly.

o   Provide a temporary, two-year partial employer tax credit for each person employed in the cast or crew of musical, theatrical, dance, opera, or variety performance.[3]

·       Incentivize private support for the arts.

o   Permanently reinstate the business entertainment tax deduction.

o   Provide a temporary, two-year individual entertainment tax deduction for the purchase of tickets to live arts and entertainment performances up to $400 per individual/$800 per joint filer.

 

Film and Television 

 

·       Pass a National Broadband Program to allow more households access to high-speed Internet and the ability to stream content, which in turn will increase residual income for union creative professionals and their health and retirement funds. Such a broadband program should provide federal funds to companies to provide high-speed Internet to unserved areas of the country.[4] Companies receiving such funds must honor any existing collective bargaining agreements they have, be prohibited from outsourcing of U.S. jobs, and must remain neutral during any union organizing drive. 

 

 

Public Radio and Television

 

·       Commit to a two-year temporary funding infusion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help stations that are affected by reduced charitable giving as a result of COVID-19’s economic impact.[5] Funding should support:

o     Continued operations at public radio and broadcasting stations.

§  Maintaining employment at public radio and broadcast stations, including the rehiring of employees laid-off or furloughed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

§  Grants to seed American-based productions of new content for public television and radio. 

  • Triple the grant capacity of the National Endowment for the Humanity’s Media Projects program, which supports the development, production, and distribution of radio, podcast, television, and long-form documentary film projects that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. 

 

News and Information

 

·       Pass a two-year temporary tax credit to maintain journalists and other media workers on payroll across all formats - print, radio, TV, and digital - to ensure continued information at a time when it is needed most and as industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic’s shock to advertising revenue.

·       Appropriate and direct federal advertising dollars for programs where community outreach is needed for spending on local media.

If you have any questions, please contact DPE Assistant to the President/Legislative Director, Michael Wasser at (202) 638-0320 ext. 11 or mwasser@dpeaflcio.org

 

 


[1] Americans for the Arts. (2020) “The Economic Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the Arts and Cultural Sector.” Retrieved on November 9, 2020 from https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-topic/disaster-preparedness/the-economic-impact-of-coronavirus-on-the-arts-and-culture-sector.

[2] “Arts Audiences.” (2017).Arts and Economic Prosperity Five. Americans for the Arts. Retrieved on January 25, 2020 from https://www.americansforthearts.org/sites/default/files/aep5/PDF_Files/NationalFindings_StatisticalReport.pdf. 

 

[3] The tax credit should go to new hires and individuals re-hired to work for the same employer on multiple productions or performances.

[4] An unserved area of the country would be defined as one where citizens do not have access to the FCC’s standard for broadband which is download speeds of a minimum of 25 Mbps and upload speeds of a minimum of 3 Mbps. 

 

[5] The 2008 Great Recession led to a 7 percent reduction in charitable giving in 2008 and a 6.2 percent reduction in 2009. Charitable giving did not recover back to pre-recession levels until 2014. (Reich, Rob & Wimer, Christopher. 2012. Charitable Giving and the Great Recession. Stanford, CA: Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. Retrieved from https://inequality.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/CharitableGiving_fact_sheet.pdf) 

 

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Thursday, January 21, 2021

Engaging members from a distance: A DPE roundtable conversation

Vice President Carson Grant attended. His notes:

SEE ATTACHED> (BELOW)

MANY SPOKE, SAG SHOWED A 20 MIN POWERPOINT. OLD NEWS CONFERENCES WITHOUT MASKS...

I STATED WE ARE ALL GOING THROUGH THE LEARNING CURVE OF REMOTE GATHERINGS AND LEARNING OVER THE LAST MONTHS. SOME POSITIVE METHODS HAVE DEVELOPED FROM THE ZOOM PLATFORM. A MORE EFFICIENT USE OF TIME.   THE EASE OF ASSEMBLING WITHOUT THE VARIABLE OF TRANSPORTATION. PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION SEEM MORE FLUID.

GIAA IS USING THE ZOOM MEETINGS, TO PROMOTE INVITED TO POTENTIAL NEW MEMBERS TO JOIN EXISTING MEMBERS TO TAKE PART IN WRITING, READINGS, REHEARSALS, AND AUDITION MEETINGS, WHILE NETWORKING. WE USED THIS TECHNOLOGY HAVING OUR MONTHLY AND ANNUAL MEETING.

ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF THE TECHNOLOGY, I SPOKE PERSONALLY OF AUDITIONS AND REHEARSALS BEING LIMITED IN HUMAN TOUCH ELEMENTS. ZOOM CAN NOT DUPLICATE THE IN-PRESENCE ENERGY TRANSFERENCE IN A PERFORMANCE BETWEEN ACTORS.

page1image3827968

DEPARTMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO

Engaging members from a distance: A DPE roundtable conversation

January 21, 2021
1:00 – 2:30 pm EST https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89975414797

Welcome
Introductions and Affiliate updates

o Share one example of how your union adjusted your member engagement strategy in response to the pandemic

How to effectively engage with a remote and distributed membership – lessons from the field

o OPEIU
o AFT Higher Education o SAG-AFTRA

The challenge of new remote and distributed work arrangements

o How has your union dealt with the challenges of performing representational duties during the pandemic? (Issues accessing employer worksites, non-responsive management, new staggered shifts w/o steward coverage)

o How have you worked to continue to build and maintain members’ connection to the union over the last ten months? What challenges have you faced and where have you seen success?

Planning for the post-COVID future

o Are you seeing a push from members who are currently working remotely to continue doing so on a permanent basis?

o What lessons and changes from the pandemic do you anticipate your union will hold on to for the long term?

o Are there new ways your members have been able to show their union pride and take public action that you will continue encouraging them to do?

Tools and resources for affiliate unions

o Has your union created any resources for staff or locals that you would be willing to share with other affiliates?

o As a reminder, DPE has resources available about using zoom, peer to peer texting and other digital tools, and is always available to advise affiliates on specific projects

Closing and next steps

o What issues or subject areas would you be interested in discussing in the future? o Would you complete a survey about future roundtable discussion topics?

815 16th Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 (202) 638-0320 www.dpeaflcio.org


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Scheduling AEMI racial justice policy press call THURSDAY FEB. 11 at 3p.m. EST

 Hi All, 


We've confirmed a time for the AEMI racial justice policy agenda press call - the call will take place on Thursday, February 11 at 3pm ET/12pm PT. 

I am beginning to contact reporters about the call and will be in touch with comms folks for each of your unions about inviting specific press. I will also be following up about call materials like the media advisory and press kit.

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Best, 

Katie 

Katie Barrows
Communications Manager
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE)
Social: @DPEaflcio
From: Michael Wasser <mwasser@dpeaflcio.org>
Sent: Monday, January 4, 2021 2:28 PM
To: Michael Wasser <mwasser@dpeaflcio.org>
Cc: Jennifer Dorning <jdorning@dpeaflcio.org>; Katie Barrows <Kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org>
Subject: Scheduling AEMI racial justice policy press call - Response requested
 
Hi everyone, 

Happy New Year! As a follow-up to our December call regarding the AEMI racial justice policy agenda call, we want to confirm a date and each union's speakers for a late January/early February press call to publicly announce our policy agenda. (As a reminder, each union should have one principal and one member participate.)

Please email Katie Barrows (kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org) the name of your speakers and a day-of contact person by COB Friday, January 8th. Please also complete this Doodle to indicate your union's preferred date by COB Friday, January 8th: https://doodle.com/poll/ivys7apdhsi6t5t6?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link.

We will be in touch soon to schedule a prep call and confirm final details. In addition, Katie will also be following up this week with the comms folks for each of your unions.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Best,
Michael 



Michael Wasser
Assistant to the President/Legislative Director
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO

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Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Zoom meeting invite January 26 at 3:30 PM EST

 Carlo Fiorletta is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.


Topic: GIAA

Time: Jan 26, 2021 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)


Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/8449792416?pwd=QzZaYU9pbk96TnlnQkhxTU5KclExdz09


Meeting ID: 844 979 2416

Passcode: 7fhJrf



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Sunday, January 17, 2021

Pro Black One Acts- Black History Month Zoom Show

Affirmation Theatre Company

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Friday, January 15, 2021

Updates on NEA/NEH rescission requests and mixed earner unemployment compensation

Hi everyone, 

Rescission FY 21 .PDF

We want to call your attention to two items:

Trump administration NEA/NEH rescission request

You may recall in December that Donald Trump said that he wanted to cut some FY 2021 omnibus spending before he agreed to sign the legislation (including funding asked for in his own budget request to Congress). This week the Trump administration formally notified Congress of its request to rescind funds under the Impoundment Act. Included is a request to cut $110 million from the NEA and NEH's FY 2021 appropriations. (The overall rescission request is to cut $27.4 billion in budget authority, the largest rescission package ever proposed.)

The Trump administration's rescission request will not go anywhere in the 117th Congress, but it does mean that the identified funds cannot be used by the NEA or NEH for 45 days or until the Congress completes action on a rescission bill. In addition, the incoming Biden administration can withdraw the Trump rescission message, which would allow agencies to plan and spend funds as expeditiously as possible. 

To view the specific rescission message for the NEA and NEH, see p. 70 and 71 of the attached PDF. 

Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation resources

As you'll also recall, December's COVID-19 relief bill established a voluntary Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) program for people who earn a combination of 1099 and W-2 income. MEUC provides an extra $100 in weekly compensation for people receiving certain UI benefits who can show they earned at least $5,000 in 1099 income in the most recent taxable year. Currently MEUC is available until March 14, 2021. With the exception of Mississippi, Idaho, and South Dakota, all states and territories have opted into the MEUC program.


Here's a website built by Future of Music Coalition and Sarah Al Howes that has additional resources for mixed earners: https://www.mixedincome.org/

Best,
Michael


Michael Wasser
Assistant to the President/Legislative Director
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
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